Patient Stories

"You can't think about what might have been. You just have to focus on making the most of what life gives you."

Derrick Bauer

Multiple Trauma

Super Bowl Sunday … but Derrick Bauer didn't make it to the party he planned to attend. He went for a ride on his motorcycle, and just minutes from his home, was struck head-on by a car whose driver had lost control. He fractured dozens of bones in his wrists, hands, fingers (though he likes to point out that only nine of his ten digits were broken), ribs, hip, pelvis and legs. Amazingly, he did not incur a brain or spinal injury. He did, however, undergo 13 surgeries in a ten-week period – and spent six weeks in a medically-induced coma.

"I was lucky … very lucky. They thought I was dead. As it turned out, the worst of my injuries was to my left leg, which almost had to be amputated. But I can't complain. I'm alive."

A plumber by profession, Derrick was used to working hard and he put that work ethic to the test at Kessler's Center for Orthopedic Rehabilitation. His treatment team, along with his family and friends, were by his side every step of the way. He was determined to regain his strength and function, and defy the odds. "They told me I wouldn't be able to work again, but here I am back on the job."